Using Rainwater for Frogs

Nitrate:
15-30 ppm, depending on the time of year (due to agricultural runoff)
(click on the links above if you want more information about these terms)

Dendrobatids and Mantellas originate
from areas where the water is soft (and usually acid, since decaying vegetation
produces organic acids and soft water has little buffering capacity). The
physiology of these species has evolved to cope with these conditions. Does
this mean that
you MUST
have
soft
acid water
to keep them? Not necessarily - most captive-bred frogs are quite adaptable
in the water chemistry they will accept, as long as extremes are avoided, e.g.
from pH 6.5-8.0 and from 5-20°DH. But the worst thing about hard water are
those 'orrible water spots on the glass...

In the UK, the majority of the population lives in areas with
hard, alkaline (and sometimes polluted) tapwater - south of the Exe-Tees line.
This is also true in many US cities (e.g. Los Angeles) or if you have well-water.
If you have soft water flowing from your taps, you may not wish to read any
more of this page - unless you are interested in being a more eco-friendly frogkeeper.

Why use rainwater?

Water world-wide is becoming an ever more valuable resource - demand
outstrips supply. Do you want to see more countryside disappearing under
reservoirs?

Water treatment and transportation introduces all kinds of chemicals
into your water supply: chlorine or chloramine, fluoride, copper, alum
(aluminium sulphate), etc.

Many water supplies are now polluted with nitrates, heavy metals, pesticides,
chlorinated hydrocarbons, etc... Even if your water is not polluted now,
you have no way of knowing if it will be next week, next month or next
year.

So how do I get soft, clean water for my frogs?

If you don't have soft water on tap or are worried about pollution,
you have several choices. I'm not suggesting that you should use any of these
methods in particular - the choice is yours, but just for information, you could
use:

This book shows you five different styles of terrarium, including
desert, woodland, and half land-half water. It also tells you everything you
need to know about the kinds of animals you might want to live in it. Also it
includes instructions for several other types of habitats such as greenhouses
and ponds. (Amazon.co.UK)

The better way...

Buy or construct a suitable holding vessel. My setup
(below) consist of a 320 litre purpose-built
rain butt from a garden centre. This has a tight fitting, child-proof lid
which keeps collected water dark and clean (no algae, smell, mosquitoes)
and a tap. It's worth the initial expense and much cheaper than R.O. or
deionization - no running costs!

Use a rainwater
diverter on the downpipe from the roof. You can buy these from garden
centres or by mail order from adverts in gardening magazines, or simply
divert the outflow from the downpipe into your collecting vessel.

Only collect rainwater after it has been raining steadily for a while.
This ensures that the collecting surface (roof & guttering) has been
washed clean and also that atmospheric pollution has been reduced/removed
by rain before you start collecting. Stop collecting as soon as the rain
stops. If you use a 'switchable' type diverter, this is easy. Otherwise,
simply switch the outflow from the downpipe from the drain into your collecting
vessel when you wish to collect.

Use a strainer (nylon pantyhose is ideal) over the end of the input to
keep leaves, moss, grit, etc out of the collecting vessel. Clean this after
each collection.

Clean out the collecting vessel regularly - scrape/wipe the sides and
siphon the sediment which inevitably collects on the bottom.

Rainwater diverter:

320 litre collecting vessel:

Q&A:

Isn't rainwater polluted?
Not if you collect and store it carefully as I have explained above. I live
in an urban, industrial area close to major roads :-( My house is roofed with
concrete tiles. This is not a problem since the water is only in contact with
the tiles for a brief time. I occasionally test my rainwater and it always
comes out as:

pH 6.5

DH/KH = 0

Nitrate, nitrite = 0 PPM

If it was polluted, I would not have been able to keep the species
listed on this site.

Do you run out of water in the summer?
Even in dry summers,
I have never actually run out, although I have come close
a few times. Obviously, continuity of supply depends on the rainfall
where you live. Even if you do have dry summers, you can still use rainwater
during the wetter parts of the year, and help save the planet. There's not
much point being concerned about destruction of the rainforests and ruining
the environment in your own heavily-populated country.